The point is that the actual project head advised newspapers that there would be an announcement of a Da Vinci launch date on the 18th.

There wasn't. There still hasn't.

If the project is going to schedule and this is all some sort of publicity stunt I would be rooting against them winning, every company should show SOME respect for the public, we're going to be their customers and right now I wouldn't consider giving Da Vinci several hundred thousand dollars (not that I have it to give).

i agree - it's bad press and relations to make an announcement - then nothing .. they must have lots of pressures we aren't aware of (as drooling space-hungry 'fans') .. look at the x-prize main page - under 'The Latest News' and see a picture of da Vinci's Brian Feeney .. he made it to the conference .. he obviously has priorities .. cut the guy some slack .. i know - we all want cheap tickets to space - LIKE RIGHT NOW, but be realistic - it's gonna take a few months to make these things space worthy .. are you willing to be their guinea pig? for a free ride to space? a good question for a drooling space-fan is: what level of risk would you endure for a free ticket to space? 50-50? what's your risk tolerance level?

If I built a rocket, I could easily be the first to sit on it, but I don't theink I could stomach putting someone else on something I built and hadn't tested extensivley... It would be tantamount to manslaughter.

It is a little strange that the hype turned out to nothing, but it could be for good reasons. Maybe da Vinci had trouble getting a launch license. Maybe they became more cautious about putting a person in a rocket. In any event, since the team leader Brian Feeney came to the X PRIZE summit (as rocketsail pointed out), I still think Da Vinci is making progress.